Proteins are commercially useful in a large variety of applications, including diagnostic, pharmacological, therapeutic, nutritional, and research applications. Large scale production of proteins for commercial use can be both laborious and expensive. Moreover, facilities that produce proteins for pharmacological use can incur significant cost to obtain building and regulatory approval. Thus, even small increases in the efficiency with which a protein can be produced are commercially valuable because of the limited number of facilities available for production and the expense of production.
Cultured mammalian cells have been used for production of some proteins, particularly recombinant proteins intended for pharmacological use, and numerous adjustments of culture conditions have been shown to affect the quantity and quality of protein produced. The present invention provides a new culture process that is designed to improve production of a protein, particularly a recombinant protein, from cultured mammalian cells.